Oscar rushed to the sink with as much exuberance as he could muster. He performed his ablutions so quickly it was almost like he only brushed his teeth and put new deodorant on. Well, he did only brush his teeth that morning and put deodorant on. All in all, that took seven minutes as Oscar’s mother drilled the importance of at least having a decent breath and muted body odor.

After, he careened out of the bathroom with a slide and rushed his way back into his bedroom. Buck-naked, bare and wild, he flailed about through each article of his clothes to find his favorite, lucky, underwear. He nearly demolished his entire room before finding them. They were purple. They were Briefs. They were Boxers. And they had one of his all time, favorite, old-school anime characters on them. After grasping his awesome, purple Trunks underwear, Oscar threw the rest of his pre-ordained outfit on. Lest he provoke his mother’s ire.

Ariel, alight with irritation, stood outside the front door on the porch. She had already been dressed and ready, addled with time at hand, and started their hover car. After the occurrence, most electrical appliances ceased to work. It was a gradual process. Luckily, due to this, new more clean technology could be produce. The technology was called hydro-something-thermatological energy. Long story short it took supercooled water, an electric current, and some solar energy essence to power.

Peeved, Ariel began to call out for Oscar, but reined herself in when she heard the characteristic clamor of his running.

‘For a child that’s so average, he does have his odd points,’ she thought without vocalizing. Hmph’ing, she took the lead to hop in the car.

Hover cars were the smoothest rides you could ever get. Amongst the protected citizens of the world, attaining a hover-car could put you on the upper middle end of the status. That is to say, Oscar’s mom, Ariel, was important. The air of exacerbation she held around Oscar was the same air she had to place during her important work hours. Though a great mom, she had her faults. Like most other people with high stress jobs, the stress of her job leaked out at home.

Looking to the back seat of the hover-car, she saw Oscar going through his preparations. She knew these times were stressful for children. She still remembered her excitement and disappointment for her genetic rigidity.

“Oscar, sweety,” she doted, “you look dashing in those clothes. You look better than your father when he was your age. I’m so proud of you.”

Oscar, smiling, thought to himself, ‘You mean, “Oscar you look dapper in those clothes I picked out for you”, right?’ But, he knew his mother didn’t mean harm.